The Work We Do

Funding success stories

Coastal Wetlands Grants

Thomas Island

Thomas Island.

Credit: USFWS

Thomas Island, a 66-acre island surrounded by 56 acres of marine intertidal
wetlands, is located in the biologically productive Mount Desert Narrows
region of downeast Maine near the gateway to Acadia National Park. The
shallow swiftly-moving waters surrounding Thomas Island remain ice-free
and flowing through the winter, creating a wealth of productive wintering
habitat for waterfowl. The extensive mudflats also provide vitally important
roosting and feeding habitat for migratory shorebirds, wading birds
and other waterbirds. In addition, Thomas Island is immediately adjacent
to South Twinnie Island, which protects a bald eagle nesting site. South
Twinnie Island is part of Coastal Maine Islands National Wildlife Refuge,
and the eagle nest on South Twinnie depends for its long-term survival
on undisturbed habitat and alternative nest sites on Thomas Island.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust, identified as a Subgrantee by Maine Department
of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, applied
for a $453K National Coastal Wetland Grant
to purchase and permanently protect the important
wetland and waterbird complex at Thomas Island.
Gulf of Maine Coastal Program provided
significant support and strategic advice
in developing the final proposal. This habitat
protection initiative, supported with a bargain
sale donation from the original owner, helped
save the Island from an unfortunate alternate
future as a campground or high-end residential
development -- that would have devastated
the natural resource values of this ecologically
sensitive and biologically rich area.

Little River

The Little River salt marsh, located at the southern tip of Georgetown,
Maine between Sheepscot Bay and the Kennebec River, is the largest
salt marsh of its size in Maine that has never been ditched, intersected
by roads or negatively impacted by invasive plants. The Little River
Estuary offers researchers and naturalists a unique opportunity to
examine a remarkably pristine system, and the high concentration of
pools on the salt marsh provide exceptional habitat for black ducks,
other waterfowl, wading birds, migrating shorebirds, nesting salt marsh
sparrows and migrating raptors. The salt marsh grasses provide important
nesting habitat for rare salt marsh sparrows, and the streams and upland
buffer support a diverse assemblage of searun fish, breeding landbirds,
aquatic and upland furbearers and other wildlife.

Prior to its protection, the entire parcel was marketed as “Little
River Farms” an 18-lot subdivision, with shoreland zoning requirements
weaker than the state’s minimum guidelines. Only three homes were built,
and the owners of the undeveloped portions of the subdivision worked
cooperatively with conservation partners to support this habitat protection
effort. Eliminating the threat of the subdivision eliminated a host
of potential negative impacts to the marsh (i.e. septic system and
landscaping runoff, dock construction, road building, utility corridors,
habitat destruction, wildlife disturbance on the marsh and upland buffer).

The Coastal Wetland Grant, written by Gulf of Maine Coastal Program
and orchestrated with significant support from The Nature Conservancy
and the Lower Kennebec Region Land Trust, provided $250,000 to Maine
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and ultimately helped protect
387.7 acres of coastal salt marsh and associated upland buffer and
3.7 miles of shoreline. The Little River property is adjacent to 735-acre
Reid State Park, creating a contiguous preserve of 1,122.7 acres --
one of the largest and most biologically valuable assemblages of undisturbed
coastal wetland and associated upland buffer still available in a contiguous
tract in coastal Maine.

Flag Island

Aerial photo of Flag Island.

Credit: USFWS

Flag Island, a 41.6 acre island in Casco Bay was permanently protected
by the cooperative efforts of a unique array of federal, state and
private partners from Maine to Rhode Island. With more than 600 pair
of nesting common eiders, Flag Island ranks as the eighth highest
value island for nesting eiders statewide. In addition, Flag Island
is particularly significant for its high concentration of nesting
eiders near the southern end of their breeding range. Flag Island
also supports other nesting birds, including gulls, great blue herons,
osprey and woodcock.

Flag Island was advertised on the open market for development of
second homes. To prevent disruption to the nationally significant
concentration of nesting waterbirds, a National Coastal Wetland Grant
prepared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf of Maine Coastal
Program, which provided half of the one million dollar purchase price.
In addition, several hundred thousand dollars were provided by the
Natural Resource Trustees, as compensation for wintering eiders killed
in the North Cape Oil Spill in Rhode Island. Remaining funds were
provided by the Land for Maine’s Future Program, the Maine Outdoor
Heritage Program, the Julie N Oil Spill Fund and the Casco Bay Estuary
Project’s Habitat Protection Fund. Additional funds from the North
Cape Spill are being used to monitor and manage the nesting eiders.

Maine Coast Heritage Trust played a pivotal role by pre-acquiring
Flag Island when it was on the real estate market, in order to hold
the property until conservation partners identified all of the funding
sources needed for final acquisition by Maine Department of Inland Fisheries
and Wildlife. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Gulf of Maine Coastal
Program and Maine Coast Heritage Trust played key roles in strategizing
the complex approach that ultimately provided all of the funds needed
to permanently protect the island. Flag Island is now permanently
protected as part of the State’s Coast of Maine Wildlife Management
Area.